WORLD CHAMPIONS BRAZIL OPEN CAMPAIGN AGAINST A RESILIENT EGYPT TODAY
razil and samba go hand-in-hand. So do football and the musical genre. Both have seen a surge in popularity since the early 20th century with one complementing the other. Since then, Brazil has not relented in either field.
This time around, Dubai Sports Council (DSC), the organisers of the annual Huawei Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup, has managed to put together a field that is possibly even better than a World Cup. Led by top-ranked Brazil, the eight-team ensemble consists of second-ranked Portugal, No. 3 Iran and No. 4 Russia. Paraguay are No. 8, while the UAE is 10th followed by 12thranked Mexico and No. 20 Egypt.
While Brazil became one of the first teams to qualify for next year’s Fifa World Cup in Russia, their beach soccer team has shown their true flair and style while clinching almost every tournament they have featured in.
The Beach Soccer World Cup used to be called the Beach Soccer World Championships when it began on the famed sands of Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro in 1995. The Brazilians won the title nine times out of a possible 10 — their only slip coming in 2001 when they had to be content with fourth place behind champions Portugal, runners-up France and their eternal arch-rivals, Argentina.
In 2005, Fifa took control of beach soccer and the World Cup was born. In the same year Brazil once again saw their dominance questioned as they finished third at home as France clinched the first World Cup ahead of Portugal. Well known for their flair and fortitude, Brazil took the next four World Cups from 2006 to 2009 right here on the sands of Jumeirah. After this, the World Cup was hosted once every two years and Brazil showed a slip in form as they finished runnersup in 2011, third in 2013 and suffered a dismal quarter-final departure in 2015.
But then came Gilberto Costa and things have never been the same again for the Verdeamarela as they keeping getting better at each outing, very similar to the evolution of the samba styles.
“We will keep playing with the intensity and pace we have been playing in the last few months,” coach Costa promised on the eve of the tournament that will see the world champions take on Egypt today, followed by tough preliminary Group A encounters against Portugal and hosts UAE tomorrow and Thursday.
‘No invincibility’
Gilberto acknowledges the challenge. “No, the invincibility record does not add any extra pressure for us,” he said.
“We know that there are around 10 national teams in the world who are at the highest level, which means that eventually, the first defeat will come because our opponents are working hard too. We know that there is no such thing as an invincible team, but our commitment is just to do our best always.”
Portugal will also be in the mix in Dubai and captain Joao Victor, known as Madjer, is aware his team has to be at their best if they are to fulfil their Dubai dream. “Every team is a threat here as everyone has improved over the past,” Madjer said.
“But our goal is to take one game at a time and see how far we can go, especially against the likes of world-class teams such as Brazil and Russia.”
Iran have been on a high following their third-place finish at the 2017 Beach Soccer World Cup in The Bahamas. But captain Mohammad Ahmadzadeh, who won the Golden Ball, is keen to see Team Melli at the top of the beach soccer world. “Individual honours are not enough for me. What we want is a World Cup,” he said.
“We are looking for more glitter to help our team reach the heights we deserve. We are a good team and we have repeatedly shown we are among the best in the world.”
Also in the mix, and looking for a record fourth Dubai title are Russia. “I believe in this team,” Russian coach Mikhail Likhachev said.